You know that saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!”  Yeah well….it drives me nuts! Ha!  Sure, they mean well but we are human!  We have emotions!  It’s just not always that simple!

I should follow that up by saying that I truly DO believe that attitude is everything!  We each have a choice how we are going to face any given situation and what kind of attitude we are going to have.  We can be optimists and see the glass half full or we can be pessimists and see it half empty.  Either way, faith or no faith, the choice is ours.  I’ve always preferred to be positive and optimistic.

I recently met up with a friend while our kids were in school and I knew she was going through a rough time.  This friend is amazing, and that’s an understatement.  She thinks of others before herself, always looks on the bright side of a situation and is constantly serving those around her.  I thought it would be fun to bring her a little something and let her know that I heard her, I was thinking about her, and give her a little encouragement.  That saying about lemons came into my head but my response was, “That’s not what I’d do first!”  Sometimes I just need to have a brief cry or pity party and then get on with it.  So I came up with this….. “When life hands you lemons, you don’t have to make lemonade.  You can throw them at the wall, stomp on them, squeeze them and even scream at them.  THEN you can make lemonade.” Ha!  Isn’t that a little more realistic anyway?

Download here —-> LemonadePDF

Or right-click and save the image below:

I attached this with twine to a plain white bag that I had and tissue that I had also.  I bought lemons (to make fresh lemonade), lemon drops, and I found this adorable lemon kitchen towel recently at Home Goods.  You can whatever else you can think of as well….lemonade crystal light packets or anything lemon-flavored would also be cute.  Oh, and speaking of lemonade…..I have a great recipe HERE from last summer that has no sugar added and is absolutely delicious and refreshing!

I hope this brightens someone’s day!  Don’t forget to pin this to Pinterest and save it for later or post on Facebook!

xoxo, Summer

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Let’s be clear about one thing….

Here in Vegas, where we currently live, it is not common for most people to have “Garden Parties”…especially during the summer.  It is VERY hot and, thanks to the lack of water and dry ground, most people do not have lush green yards with vegetation growing and flowers aplenty.  This has been hard for me.  Being a native Californian and from the Sacramento area (a.k.a. The City of Trees) and adopted Texan by marriage (where we have lush, green rolling hills and gorgeous trees and farms outside all big cities where it becomes rural), this desert landscape has been one of the HARDEST adjustments for me when moving here last year.

That being said…..

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, will keep me from having a garden party!  I will find a way around it.  We may not have a garden or vegetation in our backyard.  We have cement walls instead of fences and desert rock instead of lush, green grass.  But we have a fig tree and a couple of bushes!  And I have a gorgeous vintage tea cart and roses from the grocery store!  So by golly….we will have a garden tea party LOL!  Perfect timing, since I had a few special guests for tea JUST as the sun was going down, it was cooling off, and a breeze started to grace us with its presence.

I found this gorgeous cart a few years ago, back in Waco, Texas. I painted it another color after washing and cleaning it originally but then repainted it white the other day and I’m loving how it looks now!  I always have fresh flowers from Trader Joe’s in my kitchen on a weekly basis but loved using my daughter’s roses that we gave her at her dance recital last night.  It was the perfect touch!  Here’s where I found everything else used in this picture:

Cake pedestals, cake stand, bottled sparkling lemonade, clear hobnail glasses, floral teapot and matching teacup/saucer, porcelain strawberry basket, “delish” napkins:  Home Goods
Hobnail pedestal bowl and teaspoons:  World Market
Pair of white teacups/saucers:  found at antique store on anniversary trip
Small rod iron chairs. grey galvanized metal napkin holder:  Hobby Lobby
Floral tea tray:  TaiPan Trading Company
Tea Towel:  handmade by Candice Lee
The Afternoon Tea Collection Book: Magnolia Lane Boutique (but also found on Amazon)
Birdcage:  Ross Stores
Berry Twist Cupcakes and fruit: Smith’s Grocery Store

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“NSA” means “No Sugar Added”.  That’s right.  This lemonade is sugar-free, except for the natural sugar in the lemons, of course.  Trying to drink more water and more lemon juice, as lemons are soooo good for you!  It’s heating up here in Vegas already this spring and so I decided to make some freshly-squeezed lemonade for my guests coming to visit!

The recipe is soooo simple!

I used about 6 lemons and rolled them back and forth on the counter to break up the fibers before cutting them in half.  Squeese down on the juicer and pour all juice, sans pulp and seeds (unless you prefer pulp) in a 2-quart pitcher.
I then filled the pitcher with purified water (you can also use sparkling water to make a sparkling lemonade too and that is a fun variation), lots of ice AND i cup of Splenda!  You can add more if you want, it just seems perfect to me.  Some like it sweeter. Throw in some additional lemon slices (it just looks so pretty).  Mix and enjoy!  It makes about 8 glasses of lemonade.

Now….if you’re like me and like mint, you can always julienne some fresh leaves, about 2 TBSP and then add a few whole leaves for garnish.  I bought some fresh mint on Monday morning at Trader Joe’s but your local grocery store will carry it too.

It just gives it that PERECT refreshing, cool taste!  Who doesn’t love fresh lemonade??

I hope you enjoy some fresh lemonade this weekend!  Invite some new friends over or make it for a neighbor and share the love !

xoxo, Summer

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